AhlulBayt News Agency - Yesterday, the Bahraini regime courts issued a 4 year jail term against the opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman in a historic politically-motivated trial. Salman is the Secretary General of the largest political party in the Gulf and is being punished for raising demands of democracy.
Al Wefaq National Islamic Society considers the verdict against Sheikh Ali Salman is void and lacks legal and judicial bases as defined by Salman’s defense panel which is made up of a group of well-known lawyers.
The United Nations, as well as prominent human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International expressed concern that the trial has been marred by a number of violations of the right of Sheikh Ali Salman to a fair trial.
The jail term against Sheikh Ali Salman comes within a security campaign against every person demanding legitimate rights. This verdict is considered to be ruled against the majority of the people of Bahrain that adopt Salman’s path in demanding democratic transition, justice and dignity.abna24.
This a trial against the national unity, peaceful movement and moderate approach that Salman leads. The court’s verdict fosters the convictions issued against the hundreds of Bahraini people with thousands of years of imprisonment and which stand on void due process.
The court prevented the opposition leader from presenting his core evidence of innocence and prevented his lawyers from argument and defense. Further, the court had only one prosecution witness to listen to. So what is possibly expected to happen in the trials of the thousands of cases which were ruled with sentences reaching up to tens of years in prison, as well as and life imprisonment and death sentences.
Nevertheless, the people of Bahrain will not abandon their legitimate demands and will continue in their revolution for democratic transition.
Al Wefaq finds verdict against its Secretary General like that against Nelson Mandela. Salman is carrying a people’s cause and the people’s demands will not be amended because of his detention. His arrest and jail term provide a bigger motive to continue in the struggle for democracy and freedom.
The sentence against Sheikh Ali Salman clearly demonstrates vital need to reform the executive, legislative and judicial authorities. The people will continue to call for this reform as these powers cannot remain in the hands of an irresponsible and unfair state.
This conviction is not only a message to the opposition and the people of Bahrain, but also to the international community and the international rights organizations. It also carries a message to some of the Gulf, Arabic and Islamic states and peoples who are knowledgeable of the demands raised by the people of Bahrain and Sheikh Ali Salman’s words that revealed the truth in Bahrain.
The people of Bahrain will continue to call for an elected government, a full power parliament, a fair and independent judiciary and security to all.
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source : al Wefaq
Wednesday
17 June 2015
5:26:01 AM
695725
Al Wefaq National Islamic Society considers the verdict against Sheikh Ali Salman is void and lacks legal and judicial bases as defined by Salman’s defense panel which is made up of a group of well-known lawyers.